EDWARDSVILLE – A local family and their pet cat made it out safely during an early morning house fire over the weekend.

The Edwardsville Fire Department responded to the call at approximately 3:13 a.m. Sunday, March 4. The fire was reported to be contained in a bedroom on the second floor of a house on Hale Avenue in Edwardsville.

Deputy Fire Chief James Whiteford said the cause of the fire was undetermined.

“We did the investigation, but it was undetermined,” Whiteford said. “The fire department’s investigation is concluded; the insurance company may perform their own.”

Edwardsville police and mutual aid from Glen Carbon and Wood River fire departments also responded to the call. Collinsville Fire Department was on standby at the Edwardsville station during the EFD’s response.

Whiteford said overall, the fire was put out relatively quickly with the assistance of one of the department’s fire engines.

“It was pretty quick for us to put out,” Whiteford said. “The homeowners found the fire and tried to extinguish it with an extinguisher. That was ineffective and then our police officers were the first on scene and they made sure everyone evacuated the building. When we arrived on scene, the fire was coming out of the bedroom into the hallway on the second floor. Our initial arrive crewing used a pre-connected inch-and-three-quarter hose line and tank water on the engine to go up and extinguish the fire.”

No injuries were reported; however, Whiteford said the damage to the house was fairly extensive.

“The fire damage was confined to the bedroom, the closet in the bedroom. The smoke damage was confined to the second floor,” Whiteford said.

No nearby houses were impacted by the fire.

Edwardsville firefighters left the scene around 4:30 a.m. and investigators were on scene until 6:30 a.m.